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vintage slipware egg cup & saucer produced by TerryBaun with vintage Viners 'Studio' teaspoon designed by Gerald Benney

We picked up this gorgeous little egg cup & saucer this week. It only cost a pound, but it’s one of those little items that we’re going to treasure. We’ve mentioned previously how much we love this type country slipware pottery.

vintage slipware egg cup produced by TerryBaun

We did a bit of research into the maker and it turns out that it’s by Terrybaun Pottery – one of the oldest, if not the oldest, craft potteries in Ireland. It was established by Madeleine & Grattan Freyer in the late 1940s. Our egg cup looks like it might be one of their quite early slipware pieces.

base of vintage slipware egg cup produced by TerryBaun showing impressed back stamp

Below are just a few examples of the slipware & scaffito pieces they produced in the 1950s/60s – the pictures are taken from the Irish Arts Review’s online archive – stunning!!

trio of vintage slipware bowls from the Terrybaun Pottery

long oval Terrybaun Pottery dish with scraffito decoration by Oisin Kelly depicting the Last Supper

The couple’s nephew, master potter Henri Hedou, alongside his wife Fiona, carries on the tradition – taking over the running of the Co. Mayo pottery in 1983.

V is for… Viners

Group of vintage Viners stainless steel items | H is for Home

Viners is renowned for its high quality stainless steel products.

vintage Viners sauce boat | H is for Home

The company was founded in 1901 by Adolf Viener.

Vintage Viners ladle | H is for Home

Sheffield is the home of British steel manufacturing and Viners grew into the biggest cutlery factory in the city.

group of vintage Viners Mosaic cutlery pieces | H is for Home

Ruben Viner, one of the founder’s sons, became the firm’s driving force, and it really prospered in the 1960s.

This period saw our favourite range of products with wonderful shapes & textures – by designers such as Gerald Benney and Stuart Devlin. Even the packaging looked great!!

vintage Stuart Devlin dish designed for Viners | H is for Home

Their cutlery ranges from this era such as Mosaic, Shape and Sable are now much sought after.

set of vintage Viners Mosaic cutlery | H is for HomeMosaic

set of vintage Viners 'Shape' cutlery | H is forHomeShape

set of vintage Viners 'Sable' cutlery | H is for Home
Sable

The stainless steel was sometimes combined with woods such as rosewood and teak…

vintage Viners teak & stainless steel ice bucket | H is for Home vintage Viners teak & stainless steel ice bucket | H is for Home

…as in this fabulous ice bucket…

set of vintage Viners Polynesian teaspoons | H is for Home

…or these Polynesian teaspoons.

The company invested in a modern factory in Sheffield with subsidiaries in Ireland, France and Australia. Unfortunately, this major investment was to be the firm’s undoing. Crippling loan repayments at a time of stiff competition from cheaper, Far Eastern imports saw the family-run business close in 1982.

vintage Viners ice bucket | H is for Home vintage Viners ice bucket | H is for Home

The brand is now owned by US-based Oneida, the world’s largest cutlery company.

vintage Viners Splayds spoons

There are some great vintage pieces out there – have a look at H is for Home’s current vintage Viners items for sale.